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In this image posted on June 5, 2026, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi rides a scooter during a visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. | Photo Credit: PTI Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday (June 5, 2026) alleged that the BJP’s claim that the Great Nicobar Island project is a strategic one is a “lie”, aimed at helping industrialist Gautam Adani.On World Environment Day, Mr. Gandhi launched an online petition, inviting citizens to join the campaign which read: “we choose green over greed”.Releasing a 16-minute video based on his visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in April, Mr. Gandhi alleged that the Centre’s proposed mega-development project in Great Nicobar would lead to large-scale ecological destruction and displacement of local communities while primarily serving private commercial interests. The project involves building a transhipment hub, an airport and a tourist township.“The Modi government and the BJP tell you the Great Nicobar project is about defence. It is not,” Mr. Gandhi said in the video, titled ‘This is what Modi doesn’t want you to see’. He argued that if strategic considerations were paramount, the government should expand INS Baaz, the naval air station located in the Nicobar Islands, a move that the Congress would fully support.“The Navy has been asking for expansion for five years. If you want to make a military argument, expand INS Baaz. There is no need to destroy rainforests for that,” he said, adding, “INS Baaz is also on the coast. The point is that they want to help Mr. Adani and these criminals are hiding behind the Navy, behind the forces, to steal Indian land. They are saying they want to build a transshipment port, but it is a non-starter as they are already building a port in Kerala, which is on the mainland so that is the first lie.”Alleging that the project was intended to facilitate large-scale commercial development, including hotels and casinos, he said more than 1.5 crore trees, ancient rainforests and coral reefs were under threat. And the size of the area that is being talked about for times the size of New Delhi.In a post on X, Mr. Gandhi said he had visited Indira Point, interacted with settlers and tribal communities, and witnessed the island’s ecological richness first hand. He alleged that tribal communities were being deprived of their land in violation of the Forest Rights Act and that settlers were not receiving fair compensation.“What kind of India do you want to inherit? One where rainforests have been bulldozed for casinos, coral reefs erased from maps, tribal communities pushed off their land, and the air we breathe turned into poison? Or one where India’s natural heritage is protected, our tribal communities are safe, and progress works with nature not against it,” Mr. Gandhi asked, urging youngsters to sign his petition.The Congress leader maintained that he was not opposed to development but favoured what he described as “ecologically balanced development”. Great Nicobar, he said, had the potential to become a global model for sustainable tourism and conservation.In a separate post, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge broadened the attack on the government’s environmental record, accusing it of weakening India’s environmental governance framework and presiding over large-scale ecological degradation. Citing official figures and project clearances, Mr. Kharge claimed that nearly 1.92 lakh hectares of forest land had been diverted over the past 11 years and that more than 1.6 crore trees had been felled since 2014. Published - June 05, 2026 05:53 pm IST
